Rahm Emanuel on Principles & Values

Democratic Rep. (IL-5); Chief of Staff-Designee

The Plan: new social contract for a changed world

If we're going to turn the country around, we need a bold agenda that can be counted off on one hand:

A new social contract--universal citizen service, universal college access, universal retirement savings, and universal children's health care--
that makes clear what you can do for your country and what your country can do for you.

A return to fiscal responsibility and an end to corporate welfare as we know it.

Tax reform to help those who aren't wealthy build wealth.

A new strategy to
use all America's strengths to win the war on terror.

A Hybrid Economy that cuts America's gasoline consumption in half over the next decade.

Each of these ideas represents a serious effort to address America's most pressing national challenges.
Each of them marks a clean break with the status quo, yet ll are practical ideas that can be passed and put into action right away. Above all, these ideas recognize that the world has changed, and so must we.

Political fundraiser & strategist, before running for House

The average House member came to Congress after becoming a respected community leader--a prominent attorney, perhaps, or a state senator. Emanuel, in contrast, had spent twenty years getting his hands dirty in politics--raising money, studying polls,
crafting attacks, planning strategy. He had done this at a relatively low level--in high school he had walked the streets for former Chicago congressman Abner Mikva--and at the highest, as President Bill Clinton's senior advisor.

Ran the Dems' DCCC House campaign after 2004 electoral loss

It was against the backdrop [of the 2004 electoral losses] that Nancy Pelosi, who'd been in Congress for 17 years and leader of the House Democrats for 2, called Rahm Emanuel, the volatile 2nd-term congressman from Chicago, and asked him to run the
Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

Pelosi faced significant pressure to choose someone other than Emanuel to bring this about. Members of Congress valued seniority, and Emanuel, first elected just 2 years earlier, was a newcomer.

Pelosi chose Emanuel anyway. The two had known each other since 1987 when Pelosi won her first congressional race, and Pelosi was keenly aware of Emanuel's ability to raise money. Most important, Emanuel was known to be tireless, aggressive, and pushy. P

2004: Planned four-year process to recapture House for Dems

In December 2004, [after the large Democratic electoral loss, Nancy Pelosi and Rahm Emanuel began work on the 2006 Democratic House campaign]. Emanuel warned Pelosi there was no way the Democrats could win the House in 2006. At best, he said, they would
capture a few seats and perhaps finish the job in the 2008 election cycle. "Nancy, the truth is, rather than keep telling people we're going to take back the House, we have to start realizing this is a two-cycle process,"
Emanuel said. He reminded Pelosi that the Republicans had captured nine Democratic House seats in 1992, setting the stage for their 54-seat blowout two years later. Similarly, he thought, a handful of Democratic wins in
2006 could pave the way for retaking the House in 2008. Undaunted by this pessimistic forecast, Pelosi on January 9 officially named Emanuel to head the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, putting her future in his hands.

Three pre-teen children: Zachariah, Ilana, and Leah

In December 2004, when Emanuel was appointed head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Democrats had a bleak political outlook. Emanuel explained that [he accepted the difficult task because] it would be even harder for him to do
it in future years, when his three young children--Zachariah, Ilana, and Leah--were older. "Given my background in politics, having worked at the DCCC and the White House and campaigns, I was never going to get through my life in the
House and not do this," Emanuel said. "So I made a determination that I wanted to get it done while the kids are nine, seven, and six, rather than have this job when they're twelve, eleven, and ten. There's a difference.
There is a higher-than-normal suicide rate among members' kids, when you look at it on a per capita basis. And nothing is that important. I'm going to be around for them."

Americans United for Separation of Church and State (AU) is a religious liberty watchdog group based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1947, the organization educates Americans about the importance of church-state separation in safeguarding religious freedom.
AU is a nonpartisan organization dedicated to preserving the constitutional principle of church-state separation as the only way to ensure religious freedom for all Americans.

Americans United is a national organization with members in all 50 states. We are headquartered in Washington, D.C., and led by the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director. AU has more than 75,000 members from all over the country. They include people from all walks of life and from various faith communities, as well as those who profess no particular faith. We are funded by donations from our members and others who support church-state separation. We do not seek, nor would we accept, government funding.

Member of Democratic Leadership Council.

Emanuel is a member of the Democratic Leadership Council:

Mission

The DLC’s mission is to promote public debate within the Democratic Party and the public at large about national and international policy and political issues. Specifically, as the founding organization of the New Democrat movement, the DLC’s goal is to modernize the progressive tradition in American politics for the 21st Century by advancing a set of innovative ideas for governing through a national network of elected officials and community leaders.

Who We Are

The Democratic Leadership Council is an idea center, catalyst, and national voice for a reform movement that is reshaping American politics by moving it beyond the old left-right debate. The DLC seeks to define and galvanize popular support for a new public philosophy built on progressive ideals, mainstream values, and innovative, non bureaucratic, market-based solutions. At its heart are three principles: promoting opportunity for all; demanding responsibility from everyone; and fostering a new sense
of community.

Since its inception, the DLC has championed policies from spurring private sector economic growth, fiscal discipline and community policing to work based welfare reform, expanded international trade, and national service. Throughout the 90’s, innovative, New Democrat policies implemented by former DLC Chairman President Bill Clinton have helped produce the longest period of sustained economic growth in our history, the lowest unemployment in a generation, 22 million new jobs, cut the welfare rolls in half, reduced the crime rate for seven straight years, balanced the budget and streamlined the federal bureaucracy to its smallest size since the Kennedy administration.

Now, the DLC is promoting new ideas -- such as a second generation of environmental protection and new economy and technology development strategies -- that is distinctly different from traditional liberalism and conservatism to build the next generation of America’s leaders.